“The best way out is always through.”
DEUTERONOMY 20-22
1When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”(20:1-4)
MARK 14:26-50
“ ‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’d
28But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twicee you yourself will disown me three times.”
31But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
JOURNAL
Peter refused to believe that there could ever be a situation where he would deny Christ...yet in a few short verses later...he runs away and then denies him 3 times. Peter completely blows it. Yet Christ knew that this was coming, he knew the daunting circumstances that all of them would encounter over the next few days. I think this was part of Jesus' angst. Yet instead of running, instead of finding a way out...Jesus faced it head on.
Adversity is waiting...every morning that we are gifted with another day we are also gifted with inevitable adversity. In one way or another we are going to face struggle...whether that be with a situation, another human, an illness, and if nothing else...ourselves. Struggle and adversity are as much a part of life as the sun rising and setting.
Yet I will confess, there is always this hope that maybe today I won't encounter it...maybe today it won't exist, maybe today I'll just cruise through unscathed. Yet what I learn from scripture and have unwillingly learned in my life is that wishing for the absence of adversity is futile. For adversity is a key component in defining life itself.
The question rather needs to be...how do I confront it, how can I overcome it, what can I learn from it. When I really think about it...gravity is adversity, hunger is adversity, thirst is adversity, the weather, the elements, bills, job, school, relationships, family...all of it contains an element of problems and adversity.
So I guess really there are two choices...face it or run from it. To face it and embrace it is to ultimately solve it. To run from it and avoid it is to be defeated by it. Jesus faced the adversity all the way through death and in doing so defeated it. In doing so he provided redemption to Peter and the keys to life for all of us.
Peter refused to believe that there could ever be a situation where he would deny Christ...yet in a few short verses later...he runs away and then denies him 3 times. Peter completely blows it. Yet Christ knew that this was coming, he knew the daunting circumstances that all of them would encounter over the next few days. I think this was part of Jesus' angst. Yet instead of running, instead of finding a way out...Jesus faced it head on.
Yet I will confess, there is always this hope that maybe today I won't encounter it...maybe today it won't exist, maybe today I'll just cruise through unscathed. Yet what I learn from scripture and have unwillingly learned in my life is that wishing for the absence of adversity is futile. For adversity is a key component in defining life itself.
The question rather needs to be...how do I confront it, how can I overcome it, what can I learn from it. When I really think about it...gravity is adversity, hunger is adversity, thirst is adversity, the weather, the elements, bills, job, school, relationships, family...all of it contains an element of problems and adversity.
So I guess really there are two choices...face it or run from it. To face it and embrace it is to ultimately solve it. To run from it and avoid it is to be defeated by it. Jesus faced the adversity all the way through death and in doing so defeated it. In doing so he provided redemption to Peter and the keys to life for all of us.
Adversity is waiting...every morning that we are gifted with another day we are also gifted with inevitable adversity. In one way or another we are going to face struggle...whether that be with a situation, another human, an illness, and if nothing else...ourselves. Struggle and adversity are as much a part of life as the sun rising and setting.
The question rather needs to be...how do I confront it, how can I overcome it, what can I learn from it. When I really think about it...gravity is adversity, hunger is adversity, thirst is adversity, the weather, the elements, bills, job, school, relationships, family...all of it contains an element of problems and adversity.
So I guess really there are two choices...face it or run from it. To face it and embrace it is to ultimately solve it. To run from it and avoid it is to be defeated by it. Jesus faced the adversity all the way through death and in doing so defeated it. In doing so he provided redemption to Peter and the keys to life for all of us.
9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
GALATIANS 6:9
Amen! As the saying goes, “In acceptance there is peace.” Once we stop struggling to make life something it isn’t, we are a lot happier—or at least we aren’t as miserable. And for me keeping that mindset is in itself a a daily struggle that I have to remind myself to hand over to God. It’s kind of like falling into deep water when you can’t swim. The natural inclination is to struggle against the water when what is needed is to just relax and float.
ReplyDeleteSo true...love that comparison.
ReplyDelete